Methods of forage storage take many factors into consideration

Travel rural Wisconsin and one can't help but see thousands of old concrete silos occupying old farmsteads.

Although many of these concrete monoliths were still in use in the 1990s, most are now relics of the past. Another recognizable feature on the rural landscape is those big blue tubes. These are primarily Harvestore Silos which were at the peak of popularity on dairy farms in the 1970s through the late 1980s.

So why have livestock producers discontinued the use of these concrete and blue steel silos? The transition away from smaller family farms to larger family operations kicked into high gear in the early '90s in Wisconsin. As net profits were squeezed, dairymen found it necessary to expand their herds.

In order to handle more cattle efficiently, faster ways were needed to feed, care and milk cows. Dairymen abandoned harvesting and storing small square bales, stopped using old silos linked to their tie stall barn feeding system. These changes brought about the use of flat feed storage for corn silage, hay crop and high moisture corn. Long white plastic tubes are also commonly used to store feed on today's modern dairy farms.

A year ago, I did an on-farm study to assist a client planning to expand from 200 dairy cows to 400. They currently were using all upright silos and wondering if they should build flat concrete silage storage for the expanded herd or possibly build large poured concrete silos. This summer another 400-cow dairy was contemplating changing from silage bags to either upright silos or flat cement forage storage.

The decision on what method to use in storing feed is extremely complex. Considerations include required daily silage face removal to keep feed fresh, cost of the storage structures, current forage storage system used of the farm, feeding facilities and system, speed in filling and feeding and enough space to store feed just to mention just a few. It is also worth mentioning that many producers remember problems associated with upright silos and unloaders in very cold weather.

As new crop corn approaches $8/bushel and up to $80/ton corn silage out of storage is the going price; waste and dry matter loss has become a very big concern. The storage system decision is heavily affected by how good of a job the operator does in putting up silage and how conscientious they are about feed out hence reducing costly dry matter loss.

There is more potential for waste in a bunker or pile silo than a tower silo because the top surface area exposed to oxygen is larger in bunkers and piles than it is in a tower silo. Many variables and personal business needs go into the decision of which feed storage system is the most cost effective.

Depending on the producer's future plans and how well they can manage their feeding system can make all the difference in whether to build flat feed storage, tower silos or use a silage bagging system.

I would urge producers and their consultants to utilize the software programs available from the University of Wisconsin Extension Service to assist them in the decision making process.